Bulletin Announcements January 5, 2020
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Luke 2:49 – “And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ ” What a privilege the Lord has given to us by calling us to come to His house! It is not a burden but rather an honor and a blessing for us to always be able to come to a place where we know God is present for us in His gifts of Word and Sacrament. Likewise, the Lord has honored us by allowing us to support the work of His house with our tithes and offerings.
FAITH IN ACTION OF BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL: One ride, one visit, one Senior at a time. Need a ride? Want to volunteer? Need more information? Call (309) 827-7780; or email: office@bnfia.org or contact Barry Hamlin at (309) 750-9424.
THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m. and is studying a DVD-based Study entitled: “Joseph: Carpenter of Steel!” Come learn about this important person in the Christmas Story.
OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Choir Room which is located on the 2nd level (the west side).
TODAY: If you purchased a Poinsettia, you may take it home TODAY.
THE LADIES MORNING BIBLE STUDY will meet twice a month starting this month. We will meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. This month we meet on January 7th and January 21st.
OFFERING ENVELOPES: The 2020 Offering Envelopes are now available for you to pick-up. They are located in the narthex with your name on them. If you are not sure of your name, please check with the church office. Thank you.
FROM THE OFFICE: We received a card from our adopted Seminary Student Aaron Wendorf and family—child #3 is to be born any day. To read more about their lives, the card is posted on the bulletin board outside the church office. Next Sunday, January 12th, will be our monthly Offering for Aaron.
FROM THE OFFICE: Georgia Boriack’s new address is: Georgia Boriack – Resident, Sunrise Assisted Living, 4300 George Mason Blvd., Suite 103, Fairfax VA 22030.
CAN YOU HELP: John and Paula Hardy are planning their annual trip to Ft Wayne, IN. It will be sometime after the holidays, hopefully mid-February. The Seminary needs clothes for men, women, and children. They also accept shoes, coats, and kitchen supplies. Please be sure all donated items are clean and in good repair. Please bring your donations to the church. There is a closet located in the hall upstairs where items are collected, and packed for our trip. If you need help finding it just contact John (309) 310-7917. Thank you!
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The January—March 2020 Portals of Prayer are available on the bookrack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today!
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: We have two separate sign-ups: Donut Pick-up and Coffee Set-up. We would like to encourage you to sign-up for one or the other. You may also sign-up for both if you wish. The sign-up sheet is by the door by the north stairwell.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “People Are Treasure” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Genesis 39 The speaker will be Reverend Dr. Michael Zeigler. Hear his message on The Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.
FROM THE OFFICE: The church now has a new email address. Our new email address is: office@goodshepherdblm.org.
FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE: If you miss church, please be reminded that copies of the previous week’s sermon are available on the table in the narthex. Also, the sermon will be available on our web site at www.goodshepherdblm.org. Thank you.
INFORMATION REQUESTED: Please notify the church office if someone in the congregation or any family or friends are ill or hospitalized.
PRAYER CIRCLE: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.
Stewardship Corner January 2020
Our God is a God who works through means. He can and has worked immediately without agency, as the Bible testifies, but primarily, on the whole and for the most part, our God works through means. He does this not only for all of our earthly needs but also for all of our spiritual needs. And He does this for our benefit.
He provides for all our needs of this body and life through means. He gives us fathers and mothers to care for us when we are young. Through them, God provides house and home, food and clothing, education and training in the arts and work of this world.
He gives us good government to protect us from harm and danger; He gives us faithful neighbors and good friends to help in times of need and lack. He gives us employers who trade our work for income so that we may acquire the needs of the body. He gives us brains and brawn so that we will have something to trade with those employers for that needed income. This work, which we are able to do only because of what God has provided to us, redounds to the benefit of others. And so, the cycle of God giving through means continues.
He provides for all our needs of our souls. He sent His Son into the flesh to be our Savior. In that body, our Lord Jesus Christ lived the life that God demands of us all – a life we have failed to live because of our sins – and, in that body, He made payment for those sins on the cross, once and for all.
God delivers this forgiveness through the means of His Word and Sacraments. He calls pastors to proclaim, in His stead and by His command, that our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Through these same pastors, God Himself claims us as His own in Holy Baptism, placing His own name on us in water and Word, igniting faith by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And He gives us His life-giving body and blood to nourish us in this same faith until the end. Our God is a God who works through means.
This is true also of stewardship. This is what St. Paul wrote in Philippians:
“I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:18–19).
The gift St. Paul received from the Philippian church is a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. They gave to God. God provided for St. Paul through the Philippians. And the God who loves both Paul and the Philippians will supply their every need according to the riches in Christ Jesus. Our God is a God who works through means.
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus Christ],” St. Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 1:20. This is true also of you. Trust in the God who provides for all that we need in body and soul through means. And not only will you find His “yes” to you, but others will find it, too, through you. “But as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you – see that you excel in this act of grace also” (2 Cor. 8:7).
Celebrating January 2020
Birthdays
| Carin Henson | 1/1 |
| Nicholas Hitch | 1/2 |
| Bud Kessler | 1/4 |
| Mary McEleney | 1/6 |
| Cathy Cloyd | 1/9 |
| Robert Hanner | 1/9 |
| Nancy Thomas | 1/19 |
| Greg McNeely | 1/20 |
| Linda Dirks | 1/28 |
| Jill Holland | 1/31 |
Baptismal Birthdays
| Charles Nottingham | 1/1 |
| Shirley Potter | 1/1 |
| Chloe Hitch | 1/2 |
| Jackie Kwasny | 1/11 |
| Jessica Isaac | 1/12 |
| Bud Kessler | 1/21 |
Sermon Text 12.29.2019 — According to Plan
December 29, 2019 Text: Matthew 2:13-23
Dear Friends in Christ,
Toni needs your prayers. For those of you visiting Toni is my wife. I am a planner. I come from a lineage of planners. I do not like it when things don’t according to plan especially when I vacation.
After last year’s winter, I know it is hard to remember it after this week of beautiful weather, I told Tone that this winter we needed to go south for my mental health. What was especially hard last winter was all the ice/snow we got on Sunday mornings. I knew coming into this January/February time period I would need a break. Other than the week we are going we are not making plans, yea, it’s true. We are going to drive where it is warm. We don’t know where we will lodge. We don’t know what activities are on the agenda. We do know we are going together and it will be south of here even if North Dakota hits 80 degrees that week. Thank you in advance for your intercessions.
Joseph and Mary had plans. After the visit of the wise men, they planned to return home to Nazareth. The Lord sends a dream and the plans change. Will it be for their good? Let’s travel along and see if God knows what He is doing.
“ACCORDING TO PLAN”
The plan as revealed in a dream is for Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus to travel to Egypt, which is 175 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Instead of heading north to Nazareth they are sent another direction. This is no small change. Going this far on foot is going to take days and weeks. What is the reason, Lord?
According to plan God has a reason – Herod is searching for the child to destroy him. They need to get out of his jurisdiction. They need to get to safety.
Have you ever had to go miles out of your way? I don’t like to go one exit out of my way, how about you? How about in your life? Does the Lord ever send you down a road you had no plan to go down? A job shift. An unexpected birth. The death of someone close you didn’t see coming. A diagnosis that ruins your plans?
Herod’s plans changed when he heard from the wise men about Jesus. His rage got the best of him and he knew Jesus had to die. The thing is Herod was right but not according to his plan. Jesus had to die but not because Herod willed it or because of a schedule Herod made. It wasn’t until the fullness of time that it all happened. It was God’s time. It was God’s plan. He had to die because of our fear when things don’t go the way we want. He had to die when we suffer anxiety because our plans get messed up. He had to die because of our unbelief when life goes off in a direction we just can’t comprehend. Our lack of trust in God’s plan can lead us to some dark places. Go to Egypt, come on Lord!
Joseph trusted. Joseph trusted the Lord. Joseph trusted the plan. The text is hard to read when we know of all the male children who were killed. That was also part of the plan, even if we don’t understand it. Why Lord? Why let those young men die?
The blame does not fall on God. Herod caused the anguish and death. God was there. God saw what happened. In the midst of Herod’s wickedness the Lord was working on his plan of salvation for the world. God is not the author of evil – man is – but God is always working to turn what is meant for evil into good.
According to plan, the family makes it to Egypt. According to plan, they eventually end up back in Nazareth. According to plan, Jesus was saved because of God’s intervention.
We too are saved by God’s intervention. His intervention led Jesus to the cross. He allowed Jesus to die so that you and I might live. His intervention led to a glorious resurrection. His intervention has given us a plan for salvation. His intervention has given us faith and an eternal future. God is still active in human history. He continues to lead babies and adults to the safety of His church through Holy Baptism. He continues to feed and nourish His Church with His Holy Word and with the precious body and blood of His Son. He continues to announce and give His forgiveness to all who confess their sins and seek His mercy.
We do not always know where God is leading us, but we can be sure that He will be with us and His plans are for our good. When Karson was 1 ½ we vacationed with my family on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Remember again it is in the Lueck genes to plan. We did. We planned to take a day trip with my parents up the coast to Maine. Seeing a part of the country we had not been to. That night, Karson cried the whole evening. In the morning, we had to take him to the doctor. He had an ear infection. After a dose or two of antibiotics, he was fine, but there would be no trip to Maine. Plans changed. We decided instead to spend the afternoon on Martha’s Vineyard. We had a glorious rest of our day. We enjoyed the island and you couldn’t even tell that K-man had been sick.
Lesson learned. According to plan, we must be ready for things to change. Why can we be so confident? Because the one leading the way has given us the promise. His plan of salvation through Jesus always gives us hope and direction. May we all see daily where the Lord is leading us – according to plan.
Amen.